The Higher Education Funding Agency (HEFA) under the Ministry of Education has sanctioned a grant of ₹206.94 crore for construction of new buildings and add-on infrastructure at Pondicherry University.
In a press note, Gurmeet Singh, Pondicherry University Vice-Chancellor, said the fund would be utilised for the upgradation of the main campus as well as the off-site campuses at Karaikal and Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar islands.
The money will go towards developing facilities at academic departments, a lecture hall complex, hostels for men and women students, research centres and staff quarters.
At the main campus, existing buildings will be strengthened with additional space, additional boys and girls hostels, add-on staff quarters and a state-of-the-art animal house facility would be created. While a new hostel will be added in Karaikal, a men’s hostel will be built in Port Blair.
In addition this, the UGC has requested Pondicherry University to submit proposals to HEFA for additional grants to a tune of ₹90 crore for construction of new buildings for departments of food science, performing arts, lecture hall complex for community college, students’amenity centre-cum-internet access centre, and for campus development like repairing and maintenance of roads, academic buildings, compound walls, etc. and upgrading of the existing infrastructure.
Proposals have already been submitted to the UGC for starting new courses in virology and pharmacology with new modern lab facilities for extending research on communicable, non-communicable and rare diseases including infectious agents such as novel coronavirus, Prof. Singh said.
In line with the New Education Policy 2020, the syllabi for all the academic programmes are being revised as per new curriculum guidelines set by the UGC, besides updating and making them industry-oriented. Steps are being taken to introduce online academic programmes for those who could not enrol in on campus programmes as only about 3,000 students from nearly 50,000 applicants gain admission every year, he said.
Pondicherry University had been the first to successfully implement the Student Academic Management System and Research Scholars Academic Management System to migrate all academic and administrative processes to online platform. Steps are on to provide at least two smart classrooms for each department to livestream lectures in coordination with the School of Media and communication of the university.
More MoUs with foreign universities and institutes are being envisaged for student and faculty exchange programmes, research extension activities, etc. Already, a few students of Tourism Studies, International Business Management and French Departments were being sent to foreign universities to undergo one semester academic programmes, while an increasing number of foreign students are being admitted in PU campus every year, particularly in South Asian studies, green energy technology, social sciences and humanities.
“We are optimistic of achieving targets in the NEP and breaking into the top 25 universities in India and top 200 in the world,” Prof. Singh said.